


Practice Really Doesn't Make Perfect

by DallasWinston



Category: The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Gay Dallas Winston, Gay Johnny Cade, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:09:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29832354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DallasWinston/pseuds/DallasWinston
Summary: Johnny's done with being treated like a kid.
Relationships: Johnny Cade/Dallas Winston
Kudos: 16





	1. Part 1

Johnny was waiting at the Curtis house when everyone got back.

He leapt up from the couch, running outside to meet the rest of the gang, who was bloody and bruised.

“Where the hell were you all? I was worried fucking sick, its been hours! I thought you all were dead-”

“There was a rumble, Johnny, didn't you hear?” Soda said, slinging an arm around his shoulder. “Dally was supposed to tell ya yesterday, we didn't see you.”

Johnny shrugged Soda's arm off him, glaring at Dally, who glared right back.

Darry looked back and forth between the two, before yelling to everyone;

“Come on, get inside everyone. I made chocolate cake!”

Everyone scrambled inside, while Dally and Johnny held each other's gazes.

As soon as the door slammed, Johnny snapped.

“What the hell Dal? I can't go to a rumble anymore? You withhold information from me?”

Dally was looking helplessly at Johnny, who was standing there angrily.

“No, Johnny-”

“Really? Cause it sure seems like that's what you’re doing. What were you doing, Dally?”

“Johnny…”

Johnny stood there, looking unamused and angry. It was starting to rain, the sky was getting dark, much like Johnny's mood.

“I just-I didn't want you to get hurt, you know? I didn't-I don't want anything to happen to you.”

“Dally, I have been hit more times than I can count. I get hit over the head with a bottle at least once a week. I got hit with a fucking block of wood. And you think I can't take a few Socs?”

“You couldn't that one time,” Dally said softly.

Dally knew right away he had crossed the line. Johnny's usually bright face darkened, and he looked as if he was going to cry.

“Shit-Johnny-”

“No. No, you're completely right, Dal. Sorry.” 

Johnny pushed blindly past Dally, who stood there, feeling horrible. How could he say something like that to Johnny? Every time he wanted to just protect Johnny, he screwed up even more. 

He sank down to the ground, his legs were shaking. How many more times could he fuck up before Johnny left him? How many more times before he lost not only his boyfriend, but his best friend?

It was pouring now, but Dally didn't want to go inside.


	2. Part 2

Dally had sat on the Curtis step for about thirty minutes, staring blankly out at the rain, before he realized what an ass he was.

Why was he letting Johnny run off? He could get hurt, or worse. He was angry at Dallas-who knows what he could be getting himself into?

All he wanted to do was to protect Johnny, be able to help him away from the things he had turned to, make him a better person than he could ever be. But he couldn't shield Johnny from the world, from his parents, from himself.

And Dally knew he was a hurricane.

But here he was, letting the only person he loved in the world run off because of his ignorance and his pride and his stupidity. 

He stood up unsteadily and started walking.

He found Johnny where he always found Johnny, at the lot. 

He made his way over to the old chain fence he was leaning up against, carefully touching his shoulder. He didn't want to startle him.

“Hey, Johnny,” he said quietly.

Johnny didn’t respond, he was focused on something in the distance. Or maybe nothing.

“Listen-” Dally sat down next to Johnny, crossing his legs and pulling out a cigarette. He didn't know what to say, so he started over.

“Listen, Johnny-”

“I'm not a kid.”

Johnny spoke harshly, as if he had been saving those words, locking them up for a long time.

Dally didn't speak. He still didn't know what to say.

“I'm not a kid,” Johnny repeated. “You don't have to shelter me. You don't have to care about me. You can leave me anytime you want, you know that?” He looked over at Dally.

“You don't need me, Dally. I’m just another burden for you. I don't want that, I don't want to be something you have to take care of.”

“Johnny-”

“I know I'm the gang's pet, I know you all treat me soft cause I have it rough at home, and yall don't sneak up on me cause I got jumped, and every time you see a Soc you walk in between us like you have to defend me. I know how you all look over at me when anyone mentions a fight, or a rumble, or anything, like I'm a freaking time bomb ready to go off. I know how y’all yell and wrestle and tackle one another. But never me. Never me, Dal.”

It was silent, and Johnny looked down at his lap.

“It ain't 'cause we don't think you're strong, Johnny,” Dally said quietly.

Johnny didn't move.

“It's cause we know you are.”

Johnny still didn't say anything, as if he wanted him to elaborate. Which, god, Dally would try, but he was never one for words.

“W-we know you get hit, and bruised, and beat up, so we try-we try to make it easier for you, I guess. We don't know what to do, Johnny, none of us have it like you do. So we try to make it easy, cause we don't know-we don't know how to help. We know you can take a beating. And we know you can fight off a Soc. But we figure you’ve done enough of that, you do enough of that, so we protect you.”

Dally stopped, and then continued again. He hated talking, but he would talk forever if it would make Johnny feel better.

“You ain't our pet, Johnny. You're one of the gang, you keep us together, you keep us all from breaking. You help Darry with bills and stress and Pony with work, and me-” he swallowed- “Johnny, you keep me alive. I don't-I don't know what I would do without you. I wouldn't be here.”

Dally stopped again and realized he was crying, and he looked over and Johnny was too.

“And I could never leave you, Johnny. You aren't a burden or a pet to me, you’re my best friend, my boyfriend-and I love you, Johnny. I really freaking love you. And I’m sorry.”

Dally leaned back then, head against the chain-link fence, trying to ignore the tears running down his face and the trembling in his fingers as he lit the cigarette he had been clutching. Taking a drag, he passed it to Johnny, who took it, with hands that were also shaking, he noticed.

He took a quick glance over at Johnny, who he realized was crying even harder now. Dally didn't want to hug him if he didn't want that, or do anything to hurt him, so he just said softly;

“Hey, Johnny...I didn't mean to make you cry..” 

Johnny wiped his eyes on his jacket sleeve. “N-no, I'm sorry-didn't mean to cry on you like that-”

“It's alright,” Dally said quietly.

“I'm sorry, Dally.”

“I'm sorry too, Johnnycake.”

Johnny leaned his head on Dally's shoulder, and Dally wrapped his arm around him.

Johnny sighed quietly, his breath still shaky from the crying. 

“Hey, Dal?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you too.”

Dally smiled, pulling Johnny in closer. 

“Come on, let's head back to the Curtis’s”


End file.
